Cycling shorts: The weird or the wonderful?

The return of Paris fashion week on the 26th September brought with it a whole host of new trends for Autumn/Winter 2017, some more dubious than others. From Stranger Things t-shirts to pointy-toe sneakers, top designers were certainly showing their more experimental sides. And it appears that cycling shorts were one of the more questionable items to be strutted down the runway.

We saw the likes of Natacha Ramsay Levi send models out in denim and khaki trousers that finished just below the knee, as well as creative designer for Off-White, Virgil Abloh, taking the trend to the extreme with Naomi Campbell walking the runway in a white blazer and biker shorts. Dolce and Gabbana also experimented with the trend at Milan fashion week as well as Dior sending models out in skin-tight cycling shorts. With high profile labels such as these incorporating the trend into their collections, it’s only fair to suspect that biker shorts could be a hot trend this season.

Images: Luca Tombolini, Kim WestonArnold, Yanis Vlamos

Although it’s been a while since we’ve seen something so curiously out of place on the runway, it seems designers have been taking inspiration from the 90s, the cycling gal look having made common appearances in simple and stylish outfits.

Celebrities have already attempted to bring back this trend over summer. For example, the likes of the Kardashians, with both Kim and Kendall, were recently spotted pairing black biker shorts with strappy heels. Gigi Hadid made a subtler attempt at the look, sporting denim shorts that finished above the knee with cream boots and a chequered shirt.

Images: InStyle, starstyle.com

It looks like this trend is on its way back but with a modern twist since celebrities have been dressing the look up, opting for corsets or strappy heels with the shorts rather than a classic oversized T.

Image: Harper’s Bazaar UK

We can’t deny that the models and celebs are definitely pulling the cycling shorts off, yet I can’t see even the edgiest of Leeds students sporting biker shorts to their lectures anytime soon. Can you?